The opening day of the Easter Youth 50 Over Series brought disappointment for the Uganda U-19 cricket team as they stumbled to a 27-run defeat against Kenya U-19 at Jinja SS Cricket Oval.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Kenya’s innings got off to a sluggish start, with openers Yosh Gohil (22) and Prinay Galaiya (7) unable to provide a solid foundation. Despite the efforts of Yuvraj Bhatyani and Stian Smith, who contributed 17 and 15 runs respectively, the Kenyan lineup struggled to build momentum. Arshdeep Kundi’s knock of 38 off 52 balls was the lone standout performance as Kenya managed to post a total of 147 all out.
Uganda’s bowling attack, led by Gurjivan Singh’s impressive 5-wicket haul, supported by Nyiiro Jonathan and Musa Maji with 2 and 1 wicket respectively, displayed resilience in restricting Kenya to low score.
In reply, Uganda’s batting struggled from the outset, with the opening pair failing to make an impact. While Sohera Richard and Mulongo Paul steadied the ship with contributions of 11 and 42 runs respectively, their efforts were not enough to turn the tide. Doka Abdul and Nyiiro Jonathan attempted to revive the chase, but succumbed under the mounting pressure exerted by Kenya’s bowling attack.
Kenya’s bowlers, spearheaded by Stian Smith and Neel Doshi with 3 wickets each, maintained consistent pressure on the Ugandan batsmen, ultimately bowling them out for 120 runs.
The defeat serves as a wake-up call for the Uganda U-19 team, highlighting areas for improvement ahead of their tomorrow fixture against Rwanda.
